


Little Liars

by ScarlettMage



Category: Dangan Ronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Alternate Universe, Child Kokichi, Child Taeko, Childhood Friends, Fluff, Hugs, Hurt/Comfort, Just let me have this fluff please, they're childhood friends
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-14
Updated: 2018-10-26
Packaged: 2019-07-12 03:06:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 7,660
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15986303
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ScarlettMage/pseuds/ScarlettMage
Summary: A collection of small ficlets about small liars.Celeste, or Taeko as she'll be referred to in the story, and Kokichi are childhood friends. They get up to lots of adventures, whether it be arguing with other kids over the playground, playing games, trying to prevent Kokichi from getting in trouble or just spending time together in general!





	1. First Meeting

**Author's Note:**

> I had already written a few of these and I felt the need to post them because there isn't enough content of Celeste and Kokichi getting along or just interacting in general.
> 
> It always just warms my heart to have these two being friends, even more so if they're both children!

Taeko was sat down at the park, on a bench reading her book as usual. She couldn't understand it completely because of the long and complicated words, but that didn't matter. All that mattered to her was that it was about European Castles, and it had a few pretty pictures.

Just before she could turn the page, however, she felt somebody peeking over her shoulder. Looking up she found that a boy sat to her left. This boy had purple hair, purple eyes, white clothing and he was looking at her book curiously.

"What are you reading?" He didn't bother introducing himself at all, feeling that getting his questions answered was far more important.

Although she was a little annoyed by the lack of introduction, she was used to it from many other kids and decided to answer the question anyways. "A book."

"A book about what?" He kept looking at the words on the page, trying to decipher what they meant.

"European castles." Taeko gave him a short and simple answer.

His face became one of further confusion. "Euro...what?"

"Europe is a country."

"Ah, I knew that! I was just testing to see if you knew! There's a lot of long words in here afterall!"

"Well of course I understand! I'm going to live in one of these castles someday, I'll be a queen!" Taeko announced proudly.

His gaze shifted from the book to her, and he remained silent for a few moments. It wasn't everyday you met somebody with such large dreams, yet he couldn't talk, his own dreams were probably even more large. After a while of silence, he gave her a grin and crossed his arms. "A queen, huh? Well I'm going to be the leader or a large, secret team controlling the world!"

This time it was her turn to remain silent and think. After a minute if shared silence, she smiled and spoke up. "Would you like to be friends?"

At first he was a bit taken aback, surprised at this offer. However, he quickly recovered and grinned. "Yeah!"

"Yay!" She cheered a bit. "We could help each other with our dreams! Maybe I could even join your team! In fact, maybe my castle could be the base?" She suggested.

"I'd love to have you in the team! But as for the castle, I don't think it'll be a nice base." He told her.

Hearing this, she deflated a little, frowning and looking at him, confused. "Huh...? ...Why not?"

"Castles aren't my thing. I mean, they are pretty cool, but they aren't really fitting for the team. Don't worry though, I can still help you get a castle. It could be a back-up to retreat to if we have to." He told her with a gentle smile.

"Oh, okay. I understand!" She smiled, red eyes glistening happily like rubies. However, she then realised something. "Oh, wait! I just realised! We haven't introduced each other!" She moved her book aside and stood up before doing a slight curtsie. "I am Taeko Yasuhiro!"

"Nice to meet you Taeko! I'm Kokichi Oma!" Kokichi grinned. "Now, how about we play a game?"

Taeko looked at him, warily eying his sly smile. "Alright, what did you have in mind?"

"Tag!" He quickly tapped her on the shoulder before beginning to run off.

"Hey!" Taeko puffed her cheeks out slightly in annoyance before she gave chase.

"You can't catch a supreme leader!"

"I can so!"

"Nishishi, you're so slow!"

"No! You're just fast!"

The two played until they were both exauhsted. They stopped at the bench where they had met and sat on it once more as they tried to catch their breath. It was late afternoon now, so they still had plenty of time to do stuff. 

"What do you want to do now Taeko? I chose last time so you choose this time!" Kokichi said with a grin.

"Uh, how about we read my book together? Some words are too long to understand, but that's okay! We still have a few pictures to look at." Taeko suggested as she held up her book.

"Hmm, okay!" Kokichi grinned and leaned in closer to her so that he could read easier. The two spent a while reading, helping each other out on words they didn't understand - or being confused together if neither understood -, admiring the pictures, and discussing things about Taeko's future castle and Kokichi's secret team. However, soon it was getting pretty late and both kids had to go home, so they said their goodbyes and left for their homes feeling rather happy about their day.


	2. Arguments

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our two little liars get into an argument with other kids, afterwards Taeko tells Kokichi about other arguments she's gotten into and the repurcussions of them.

It was just another day; kids were playing around and stuff, Kokichi and Taeko were together playing games by themselves. There weren't many options due to it being only the two of them, but they still had fun. They were, however, stopped by another kid. "Hey! Can we play?!"

Taeko and Kokichi stopped and turned to look at the two boys wanting to join in. Taeko turned to Kokichi, silently asking for his opinion, and after a few seconds of think he looked back to the two boys and shook his head. "Nope! Only members of my evil team are allowed to play!"

"What?! No fair!"  
"Yeah! Let us play!" The two boys glared a bit angrily.

"Too bad!" Taeko crossed her arms and shook her head.  
"You can't play!" Kokichi agreed.

"Why not?!" The first boy asked.

"Because we said so!" Kokichi said and stuck his toungue out teasingly.

Angry tears began to prick one of the boys eyes while the other's face was beginning to turn red. "Not fair!" "Poopieheads!"

Taeko frowned a little, while Kokichi smirked triumphantly. "Hmm, why don't you go play with them? They'll be playing much more fun games!" Taeko said before anybody else could speak, pointing towards a different group of kids playing tag. The two boys, although reluctant, shared a glance with each other before nodding and running off to the other group. While their backs were turned Kokichi poked his tounge out at them and made other rude yet silly gestures.

Once the two were alone once more, Kokichi turned to face Taeko, his arms behind his head casually. "Hey Taeko, how come you always do that?" In return to his question, he received a confused look, to which he explained more. "I mean, everytime you find me in an argument you either stop it or distract the other guys. Why?"

She held a blank expression, her usual somewhat good pokerface, as she thought for a moment. "Oh, well, it's because I don't want anyone to get in trouble." He blinked in confusion. "You see, I used to get in arguments quite a bit."

"Did you win?"

Hearing this she huffed and rolled her eyes, puffing her cheeks out a little in annoyance. "Yeah! Of course I do!" Her annoyance then faded away. "But sometimes the loser would throw a tantrum or run off to their parents and I'd be the one in trouble! It doesn't matter what the argument was about, the parent would always get angry and yell at me! One time they even made me let the loser read my book with me and another time the loser was able to play with my toy or whatever just because I was 'being a mean brat'!"

"Sooo, basically you don't want that to happen to me?" Kokichi asked her, smiling happily.

"Yeah, you're my friend! And you get in arguments all the time so there's a greater chance of it happening!" Taeko told him.

He let out an amused laugh before giving her a smug grin. "Nishishi! I'm going to be a leader of a secret organisation controlling the world! And I'm the best liar in the world already! It doesn't matter if some poopiehead gets upset, I can just lie my way out of it!"

She giggled a bit. "I suppose you're right, oh great leader of mine!"


	3. Don't Listen to Them!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After facing some mean kids, Taeko is left feeling a little insecure and begins doubting herself, luckily for her she has Kokichi to help cheer her up!

Taeko sighed a little as she sat on a motionless swing. She was alone in the playground, which was fine for her, it just meant she had more time and silence to think. What was she thinking about, you may ask. Well, currently she was thinking of herself, and her dream. They weren't her usual ambitious thoughts about how to improve the castle. No, they were something else.

_'Ugh, I hate to be thinking this but....were those kids right? Am I unable to live in a castle?....'_

It wasn't unusual for other kids to tease her about her dream, and she'd usually just brush them off and ignore what they said. But, today was different. Today, she was beginning to listen, and doubt herself. Afterall, there's only so much that one child can take.

' _How can somebody as boring and common as me end up in a castle? Everything about me, from my name to my personality, is just so boring and common! What they said was right! There's no way somebody as boring, common, and dull as me could live in a castle! No way no way no way!!!'_

The more she thought about it, the more she felt herself beginning to agree with the other kids. As her thoughts became louder and angrier, she felt her heart growing sadder and softer as tears began to slide down her face.

_'Just great. I'm crying. How stupid is that? Crying over a stupid dream...!'_

As she wiped the tears away with the sleeve of her shirt she heard a voice from nearby, assumably the owner of the voice was in the park with her.

"Hey, Taeko!" The voice called, cheerfulness hiding mischief. Looking up, she realized who had spoken, and smiled slightly to see it was none other than a good friend of hers; Kokichi Ouma.

"Hello Kokichi!" She waved a little in greeting and watched as he ran over to her, a familiar mischievious grin on his face.

"What are you up to Taeko?" He asked, cracking an eye open curiously as he examined her.

"Just thinking, that's all." She replied, glancing away slightly in hopes that he wouldn't notice she had cried. Before she could return his question, however, he spoke, now wearing a slight frown and a concerned look.

"Are you okay? You look like you were crying!" He then gave her a scolding look, as though warning her. "Oh, and don't bother trying to lie to me!"

Ah, it seemed luck wasn't on her side. She didn't like the idea of sharing her insecurities with him, no, not just him, but anyone. It made her feel weak. But, she knew better than to try and lie to him. It was as though he had a built-in lie detector! "Oh, uh, you don't have to worry about me! I'm fine, just had some kids help me realize how stupid my dream is!" She forced a smile, even though she felt like crying again.

His frown grew a little and a determined look grew in his eye. Many a times other kids would insult him but spending time with her and his other friends would always cheer him up. It angered him that she was getting picked on for no good reason, so now he had to help cheer her up! "Don't listen to them! Your dream isn't stupid at all!"

"Huh? But-" She was cut off before she could continue.

A grin grew on Kokichi's face. "Prove to them that you can achieve anything! Besides, I'll help you achieve your goal! With the help of me, you'll get your castle without a doubt!"

Growing more confused, she tilted her head slightly. "You'll help me? But how? Why? Why help a boring person like me?"

"Did you already forget? I'm going to take over this world with my secret organisation! Besides, you're going to be a member! I can't just let my members be sad. And if you get your castle, it will be our second base! Besides," His grin shrunk into a comforting smile. "I think you're pretty not boring." Considering how Kokichi thought of most things as boring and easily lost interest in many things and games, calling her not boring was quite a good compliment.

Ah, she did promise that, didn't she? His reassurance helped cheer her up, that was for sure. Giggling a little, a genuine smile grew on her face as she felt her sadness melt away. "Yeah, you're right! They'll regret messing with me!"


	4. Misunderstanding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Taeko's impatience and past experiences lead the liars to reach a misunderstanding as small as they are. Now Kokichi must hunt her down and convince her he wasn't intending on insulting her in the slightest!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is actually the last of the pre-written chapters! I wanted to post all these pre-written chapters first before moving on to write more.
> 
> Oh! And I forgot to mention this earlier but: these chapters are in no particular order  
> Aside from the first chapter which is the first meeting, these chapters aren't in chronological order or anything!
> 
> That's all I have to say for now. So I hope you all have a nice day or night and enjoy!

As per usual, Kokichi and Taeko were hanging out together. They were just sitting together, under a tree enjoying some peaceful silence, until Kokichi spoke up.

"Hey Taeko..." He started, she hummed quietly to let him know she was listening. He closed his eyes one moment as he continued. "Your name is common-" When he opened his eyes she was nowhere in sight. He blinked in confusion as he looked around the area for her. "Huh? Where did she-" He narrowed his eyes as he saw a small figure turn around a corner.

Kokichi ran after Taeko. Yet, surprisingly, no matter how much he ran, he just couldn't catch up. She seemed adament on being away from him which, honestly it hurt, confused him more than anything.

The next day, Kokichi went to the park again, and he was just in time to see Taeko hide from him once more. He ran to her, but the second she was in sight she ran once again, hiding in the safety of some adults. He frowned a little, this might be harder than he thought.

After that day, Kokichi continued his attempts at getting Taeko's attention. He found that she didn't go to the park. "Sheesh, dodging the park to dodge me? Rude." He travelled through town the next few days, hoping to find her.

Day after day it felt as though she might be able to hide forever, but he wasn't going to let her win!

Soon enough, realisation struck. Taeko liked books. Where were there lots of books? The library! Grinning to himself, Kokichi began making his way to the town's library. He entered and calmly went towards the table, grinning once he saw a familiar book. How many times has she read that thing? Deciding it didn't matter, he made his way over to her.

"Hey Taeko." He greeted as he sat next to her. Stifling a laugh as she flinched, he awaited for her next reaction, but it didn't come. She just remained silent. Was she...ignoring him? He frowned a little and poked her shoulder, once again receiving no response. "Taeko, it's rude to ignore people!" He said, pouting a bit.

Her gaze slowly moved from the book over to him, fixing into a fiery, piercing glare. "What do you want?" Her voice was cold as ice, but he ignored that.  
"You've been avoiding me for the past few days! Why? I just tried to tell you something and then you left!" He complained, crossing his arms.

"Well, you stated how my name is common. And I've heard what comes next." She said, looking away.

Her statement made him curious. "Oh? Then what comes next?"

"Ugh..." She let out a sigh and crossed her arms. "Telling me how my name is common and how I'm boring and stuff like that...." She mumbled.

"That isn't what I was going to say though! I know you're impatient, but you should've let me finish!" Kokichi told her. Immediately she looked up at him, red eyes bright and curious, silently telling him to finish what he had intended to say. "What I was going to say, was 'Your name is common, but you yourself are quite unique. I've never met anyone like you'." 

Immediately she felt guilty and regretful after she heard him say that. He had been intending on complimenting her the whole time, yet she couldn't bother listening. A red hot embarrassed blush came creeping onto her face, and she looked down, fidgeting with the hem of her dress. "O-oh. I-I'm sorry Kokichi. I should have stayed to listen..."

"Nishishi! To make up for it I'm gonna need a hug!" Kokichi grinned. Taeko immediately enveloped him in a hug and apologised once more. He wrapped his arms around her, hugging back, and smiled softly. "It's okay Taeko."


	5. Birthday Celebrations- Kokichi Edition

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kokichi's found that Taeko's been up to something lately, so he decides to investigate!

It had been a while since Kokichi really got to hang out with Taeko, they'd still talk occasionally but that was about it since she'd usually run off after a while claiming that she was busy. The lack of time spent together depressed him a little bit, yet it also piqued his curiosity. What had her so busy that she had to be disappearing almost everyday.

So, of course, he decided to do a little bit of some investigation work. If she thought that she could keep things a secret from him, then she was about to be proven wrong! The next time they talked, he'd have to follow her and see what she was up to.

"Oh, um, I have to go now, bye!" Taeko gave her usual forced smile and small wave before beginning to run off to do whatever she was busy with. With a little smirk, Kokichi waved back.

The second she had her back turned toward him he immediately began sneaking after her, remaining hidden in the shadows and as silent as could be as he followed her lead. As he followed, he occasionally glanced about and took note of where they were but other than that he kept following.

At one point she stopped and looked around and he was forced to hide behind a nearby bin. While she wasn't as great as him in knowledge of stealth and all that, she was rather alert and observational. Frowning a little, she shrugged and Kokichi assumed that she had decided it was just her mind playing tricks on her and she wasn't actually being watched. Oh how wrong she was.

Most of his day was spent following after her, watching and taking note as she visited various shops, looked through what he assumed to be her purse- a plain dark blue that was probably made of soft material -and most surprisingly of all was that she did what he assumed to be errands for her parents.

For as long as he'd known her, she'd never been too big a fan of chores or running around non-stop without break. She also didn't buy anything even though she visited so many shops. What was going on?

Perhaps he should confront her about it tomorrow? No, too plain, simple and boring. Pop up when she was in the middle of her work? Now that sounded like fun!

With a grin the purple haired boy began to leave with a bounce in his step, thinking about the next day and the events that would take place.

\-----

It was mid-morning, like the day she had done so before, Taeko was wandering about shops although looking more worried and anxious for some reason. Kokichi kept following her until eventually he found the perfect timing.

5...4...  
He counted down in his head.  
3...  
Just a little longer.  
2...1...  
Now.

"Taeko!" He placed his hands down onto her shoulders and giggled a little as she let out a high-pitched screech. "Oh wow, that was rude! Loook at all that attention you've drawn! Why, what if- if- they think I'm being mean to you!? You really should be more carful Taeko!" He told her in a teasing yet warning tone.

She immediately turned to face him, looking paler than usual and also rather worried. "Kokichi! I-I didn't- wha- um-" She tripped over her words and stuttered nonsense for a bit.

Hearing her failed attempt at communication, he laughed and gave her a large grin. "Don't worry Taeko! I'm not mad or anything, just a little curious as to what you're up to~" He told her, looking at her intensely as though it'd make her just spill out all her secrets, which it might have had she not calmed and regained her composure already.

"Oh, well that's a secret! If you want to find out, then I'll show you! Meet me after lunch at the park bench!" Taeko commanded him before walking off. Of course he could have easily followed, yet he decided against it, liking the idea of a surprise. For now he could muck around and have fun with some of the many people in his evil team!

\-----

Later that day he went to the park as ordered, he came a little early and just sat on the bench, closing his eyes and putting his arms behind his head like a pillow. He remained like that for a nice while before he heard hurried footsteps, at which he lazily opened an eye to see Taeko hurrying over with a large black bag.

"Oh, you're already here. Guess I was too late to surprise you!" Taeko giggled a little as she stopped in front of him.

Kokichi giggled a little and gave her a sly smile. "Nishishi! You should know that you can never surprise me!"

She giggled a little too before handing him the bag with a large, excited and proud smile. "Look inside! I intended on giving it to you in a few days when it would actually make sense, but it shouldn't change much if I gave it to you now!"

Blinking a little, he opened the bag and looked inside to see... a present? Ah, that's right, his birthday was in a few days! How did she know though? He thought back for a moment and vaguely remembered they told each other their birthdays once before. He reached in and grabbed out the present- it felt squishy. Carefully placing the bag beside him, he began to tear through the badly done wrapping paper.

The present was a cute looking cat teddie! It was a nice, soft purple and was very soft. "I didn't know what animal you'd prefer and this was rather cheap so yeah... I hope you like it!" Taeko told him, watching him with a warm smile. He placed the cat down next to the bag and looked inside once more, grinning to see a bunch of sweets.

"This is awesome!" Kokichi exclaimed as he looked back at Taeko, eyes sparkling. His demeanour immediately changed however and he gave her his usual sly smirk. "But it isn't nearly enough!"

Taeko was taken aback, she tried to ask, but her stuttering got her nowhere so Kokichi spoke up again. "To make up for that, I want a hug from my best friend!"

Hearing this, Taeko immediately calmed and let put a sigh of relief. She then smiled back at him and enveloped him in a warm embrace, nuzzling him a little. "I hope you have a happy birthday Kokichi!"

He nuzzled back and replied happily. "This already makes it great even if it isn't even my birthday yet!"


	6. Birthday Celebrations- Taeko Edition

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Taeko's birthday is coming up soon and Kokichi wants to give her the same treatment she gave him for his birthday, although he finds that he's having a little bit of trouble with money for the gifts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd like to quickly note that the headcanon's regarding Kokichi's living conditions come from a good friend of mine ! All credit for Kokichi's headcanon's go to them!!

Earlier during the year Taeko had celebrated Kokichi's birthday and given him many gifts, now that her birthday was coming up Kokichi felt that he had to do the same. Unfortunately, things weren't as easy for him as they were for Taeko, he knew what she would like but it was the gathering money part that was hard.

Being that Kokichi lived with a bunch of other kids in an abandoned warehouse, most of the money he gathered had to be put towards necessary things such as food and water for them all. It wasn't as though there were unlimited volunteer jobs- he wouldn't be able to get more money without risking DICE and the kids a meal or two. Stealing more also ran a higher risk of getting caught and in trouble which could mean big trouble for everyone. What was he to do? What could he do? Ugh, he had to find a way!

With an exhausted sigh he looked back up at the toy store, judging by some of the teddies inside it was the very same store that Taeko had bought his cat from. What could he get for her that he had enough money for? Definitely none of the toys- they were all far beyond his spending limit. Sweets? Depends- they could either be cheap or expensive depending on where you went and what you wanted.

Maybe there was hope after all. He would only be able to get a few sweets at most, but that was better than nothing. Taeko had a sweet tooth, so she would like them and not mind how few even though she gave him much more, right?

There were only a few days before her birthday, if he stole little bits from people, so little that they wouldn't notice but just enough that if he saved up a lot it could add up to something great. Yeah, he could save up and buy a small bags worth of sweets for her the day before her birthday. Yeah, that seemed like a good plan.

\-----

Taeko was suspicious. That much was clear, from the way she watched his back intently when Kokichi left earlier than usual as though she'd suddenly see what he was thinking, to the way she oh-so-subtly asked questions about what he was up to and why he was so busy suddenly- which of course he'd just answer with a lie and divert her attention elsewhere.

It worried him, however, making him doubt whether or not the sweets would be enough. Surely she had a vague idea what he was up to, right? She did it herself only a few months ago and if she did think he was doing the same, then her expectations were rather high weren't they?

She had large dreams and great expectations about herself and her life when she completed her dream. It wouldn't be too strange for her to have such expectations for him too. What would happen if he failed to meet such expectations? Would she hate him and quit being his best friend?

A feeling of anxious dread formed in his stomach and instead of anticipating her birthday he began to fear it.

\-----

Taeko was following him today, Kokichi could feel her suspicious, scarlet coloured eyes burning into his back. He can't do anything with her following after him like that. Witnesses are not something that any thief wants.

For a while he just walked around cheerfully, playing it off and acting as though he didn't notice her. Soon enough however, he felt the stare was beginning to make him more anxious, so he decided to get rid of her.

Stopping suddenly, he waited a moment in silence before he spoke up. "Y'know, it's rude to follow someone like that, Taeko! Not very queen-like at all, what would your future subjects think?" He hated using her dream against her, but it was the only way.

When he heard a rather loud 'eeep!' he turned around to face his friend, who was half hidden behind a trash can. "Sorry Kokichi- I didn't mean to spy or anything, I just happened to have to come this way and saw you were here too, so I grew curious and decided to see what you were up to!" It was a half-lie, not a very good one either and she knew it as well as he did. With a sigh, he shook his head disapprovingly.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. That's not a very good reason! I am your leader, but that doesn't mean you have to follow me around everywhere, so why don't you go run off and read?" He suggested with a light smile. Her only response was a small nod before she ran off. After he was sure that he was gone, he continued on with his day.

\-----

The day had come, it had finally come. Taeko's birthday was here. The rock hard lump of dread and anxiety in Kokichi's stomach hit him at full force. But that's okay! He's okay! He was Kokichi Oma, future leader of a super secret team that would rule the world, one measly birthday of one person couldn't possibly scare him!

After a while of convincing himself that he was not worried at all, he headed off to go meet Taeko at the park bench where they first met. Of course there was no one around when he arrived and he was perfectly alright with that, he did come pretty early after all.

Swinging his legs and watching the world around him, he calmly waited until eventually she arrived. As cheerful and friendly as usual, she sat down beside him. "Hey Kokichi-" Before she could even finish her sentence he cut her off.

"Nishishi! So you've finally arrived! Now close your eyes, I have a surprise for you!" He told her in a commanding tone. At first she was surprised and blinked in confusion, but then she giggled and with an enthusiastic 'okay' she closed her eyes. While she was unable to see the world around her, he placed the small bag of sweet onto her lap.

"Open!" He told her with an excited grin on the face, hiding the worry within.

Taeko opened her eyes and opened up the bag curiously and once she did Kokichi began talking again. "Happy birthday! It's not much, but I wasn't really able to get much money, I hope you enjoy it." Unfortunately he wasn't able to hide the worry in his voice, but fortunately she didn't seem to notice and if she did she didn't point it out.

"Well, to make up for that, you know what I want?" She asked, a sly smile on her face.

The worry grew and he almost didn't want to ask. "What?"

"A hug from my best friend!" All insecurities or worries he had immediately melted away and got replaced with relief and a big, happy grin as he enveloped his best friend in a warm embrace.


	7. Forest Adventure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kokichi takes Taeko on a forest adventure!

Kokichi had asked Taeko to meet with him in the park, claiming to have a great idea. So there she stood awaiting for his arrival, luckily enough it wasn't too long before he arrived. Looking at him, he wasn't exactly looking the most clean- the dark coloured clothes he wore appeared to have been stained here and there with dirt -but she wasn't going to judge.  She gave him a small smile and a wave in greeting.  
  
"Nishishi! The leader has arrived!" He looked her over for a moment, expression unreadable before he broke into yet another large smile. "Good! I forgot to tell you, so I could only hope you wouldn't come in a dress! Seems it was my lucky day!"  
  
"Huh?" She looked over what she was wearing- a long-sleeved dark purple shirt and long black pants -before looking back up at him in curiosity. "Just what do you have planned anyway? What's your great idea?"  
  
His smile became a large grin and what he said next surprised her. "We're going on an adventure!"  
  
"What?! An adventure?! You've got to be joking!" She said in disbelief. Yet the response she received had not been what she hoped for.  
  
"Sorry, adventuring is no joke! We're going to explore that jungle nearby and see if there's any treasures!"  
  
"We could get hurt!" She didn't really like the idea of running about in some scary jungle. It was just a small forest, but of course the kids weren't able to tell.

He just waved a hand dismissively and rolled his eyes. "Psh, we'll be fine! Now come on let's go!" With that being said he took a hold of her hand and ran off towards the forest, not noticing how she struggled to keep up.  
  
It didn't take too long for them to eventually arrive at the forest. The trees, pretty scattered about, toweed above them making them seem smaller than they actually were. The birds chirped loudly, filling the air with their cheerful songs. They hadn't even entered and already it seemed so different from the city it was in.  
  
"Woah..." Taeko looked around in wide-eyed amazement. "Maybe I should surround my castle with a jungle like this..."  
  
Kokichi grinned and nodded in agreement before he dragged her along into the forest. The two walked in silence, looking around as they ventured into the unknown. The interactions they had were short and few, but they helped Taeko calm.

 _"What if we get lost?" She asked, glancing towards her partner fearfully._  
  
_He laughed, as though the idea was ridiculous to even think of. "We can't get lost! We're walking in a straight line! Didn't you realise?"_  
  
_She tried to hide the red blush of embarrassment crawling onto her face. "S-still-"_  
  
_Rolling his eyes, he stopped for a second and held an arm in front of her so that she didn't keep walking without him. "Trust me, it'll be fine! If I'm wrong and we do get lost, then I owe you.... a hug! Okay?"_  
  
_After a moment of silence, cheeks puffed up, Taeko begrudgingly spoke up. "Two hugs and we have a deal."_

Frowning, Taeko swatted at a mosquito trying to drink some of her blood. She still didn't like that new hole in her shirt no matter what Kokichi said about it.

 _She let out a yelp as her shirt caught on a branch. "Hm? Something wrong Taeko?" Kokichi stopped and turned to face her._  
  
_"My shirt- a branch has grabbed it!" Taeko puffed up her cheeks in annoyance and tried to pull herself free._  
  
_He made an 'o' shape with his mouth and nodded slightly in understanding. "Here, let me help!" With a smile he walked over to her and pulled her and her arm away from the branch, there was a 'riiip!' as Taeko was freed. She almost fell back, but Kokichi still had a good hold on her._  
  
_After thanking him she suddenly noticed a hole in hed shirt revealing her elbow. Pouting, she looked up to see the branch waving in the wind, holding a piece of fabric like a flag._  
  
_"Cheer up, a little hole doesn't matter! Besides, now it's made this shirt unique, like you!" Kokichi assured her._

The birds chirping sounded more beautiful than most songs she'd heard, maybe it could possibly rival that old European music she'd heard before... She was suddenly brought out of her thoughts once more when she felt her hand get squeezed. She looked down to see Kokichi holding it, for a moment she wondered why, but then she blushed faintly and smiled as she remembered.

 _"Jeez, are you still scared?" Kokichi raised an eyebrow as he looked at Taeko._  
  
_Taeko bit the inside of her cheek and looked away, folding her arms as she did so."No I'm not!"_  
  
_"Nishishi~!" He waggled his pointer at her disapprovingly when she turned to face him again. "You should know by now that you can't lie to me, Taeko!" His disapproving look then morphed into a teasing yet soft expression. "So, what'd it take to calm ya? Holding my haand?" The question seemed genuine enough, although his voice sounded teasing._  
  
_Her cheeks went as red as her eyes and she looked away once more. "... that would help actually..." It was barely a whisper, which she doubted that he heard, so it surprised her when he suddenly grabbed and held her hand. Her face reddened even more as she held a surprised expression, but that surprise morphed into a pleased smile. He too seemed to be blushing faintly as he grinned back at her._

Soon they came across a river and Kokichi let go of Taeko's hand to run over to the edge of it. "Hey look a river! Do you think there's a chest full of gold at the bottom?"  
  
"I don't know, I can't see anything down there..." She frowned, her worry coming back. "Hey, how about we just head back now before it gets late or anything!"  
  
He just laughed and waved a hand dismissively. "It'll be fine! Besides, I'm not gonna leave until we find some treasure!"  
  
"K-kokichi!" She complained, it sounded like a strange mix of a whine and a beg. After a few moments of silence she puffed out her cheeks in annoyance yet again and gave him a light glare. "Fine! But if we don't find any you owe me four hugs!"  
  
"Nishishi! Sounds good to me!" He continued to skip along the riverbed made up of pebbles- then the world seemed to disappear, the birds went quiet for just a moment as it happened; Kokichi slipped.   
  
He fell forward, trying to stop himself but failing to do anything to help himself. Taeko was shocked speechless for a moment before she let out a shriek and ran over to his side. "Kokichi! Are you okay?!"

Groaning a little, he pushed himself to his feet and forced a grin. "Yep! Totally fine!" He lied. It was a bad one, and easy to see through, not just because of the blood trailing down his knees.  
  
She frowned and shook her head. "No you're not! You're hurt! Now come on, let's go back and get you patched up!" As she said that she went by his side and placed one of her arms under his and on his back. "Don't give me any of your stubbornness either!" Quickly she then added, "Oh great leader of mine!"  
  
For a moment, there was silence and she dreaded that he might be preparing to refuse, but then he grinned. "Hehe, thanks Taeko you're the best!" After that they both walked back out of the forest together.


	8. A New Game

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kokichi teaches Taeko a new game

Taeko and Kokichi sat next to each other on the park bench, reading a book together. Eventually however, Kokichi got bored. "Taeeeeko! Can we do something else? I'm getting bored!" He complained loudly, drawing said child's attention away from the book.

"You're bored? Hm, I suppose we can stop... but what will we do now?" She asked, raising an eyebrow and giving him a questioning look.

He thought about it for a few moments, swinging his legs carelessly as he did so. Soon however, a grin split onto his face and he grabbed something from his pocket; a box of pocky. "Let's play a game!"

"If we're going to play a game, then what's that for?" She asked, eyeing the box suspiciously.

If possible, his grin widened. "This is needed for the game! The game we are going to play is called 'the pocky game'. Have you heard of it?" 

Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "No..."

"Ah! Okay! Would you like me to teach you?" He asked her.

"Alright!" She giggled. "It'd be hard to play if I don't know how!"

"Too bad! I don't know how!" He laughed.

She was taken aback, almost dropping her book in shock. "H-hey! How will we play if we don't know how?!"

Her surprise and frustration only seemed to amuse him, for he laughed and waved a hand dismissively. "Don't worry! I was just kidding! Of course I know how to play!"

Puffing up her cheeks in annoyance, Taeko gave Kokichi a light glare which he easily ignored. "So tell me how to play, please!"

"Okay, okay, okay! In the pocky game we must eat as much of the pocky as we can, one at a time, the one who has the least loses!" He told her with a grin.

"That's... it?" She raised an eyebrow. "I feel like that's not all there is to it..." A smirk came onto her face. "And that is that I'll win!"

He laughed. "That's what you think! Now wait, I'll open the box and place it evenly between us, then on the count of three the game begins!" After receiving a nod of understanding, he opened the box and placed it in between them before retreating his hand. "On the count of three... one... two... three!"

The two began to eat as much pocky as they were able to. The two had fun playing and in the end Taeko didn't even care that much that Kokichi had won the game!

"I have beaten you!" Kokichi grinned and cheered. "I am the best at the pocky game!"

Taeko just laughed. "I didn't know 'being the best at the pocky game' was part of the best leader's skill-set!"

"Well now you do!" He poked her nose and chuckled. "Next time don't underestimate me!"

"Why of course, Mr. Leader, Sir!" She poked his nose in return. "But I swear on my castle's behalf that I will best you next time!"

"I'd like to see you try!"


	9. Halloween

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Halloween is here and Taeko's made some plans!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, yes, I know it's not Halloween yet, but I had finished this chapter and I'm too impatient to wait until Halloween arrives, so here it is early.

It was Halloween. Evening had yet to come, but already everyone was in the spirit, most people either choosing to chat excitedly to each other or stay at home and prepare for the night of sweets and scares. Of course, Taeko had made some plans and was rather excited about it, too busy was she preparing that she hadn't given Kokichi any of the details about what she had in store for them, which seemed to be becoming a rather common thing nowadays.  
  
She spent most of the day either preparing for the night to come- something she accomplished rather quickly -before opting to spend the rest of the day in the park running around with the few other kids there and waiting for Kokichi to show up.  
  
Eventually he arrived in late afternoon, wearing all black like she recommended- although the clothes did appear as though they could use a good wash sometime soon- and looking both bored and confused. "Why'd you call me here Taeko? I'd think you would be busy like everyone else!" He told her, yawning a little before his usual smirk grew onto his face. "It would be good for you to tell me before I get bored and leave~!"  
  
Rolling her eyes, she puffed up her cheeks slightly in annoyance. "And you say _I'm_ the impatient one!" Lightening up a little,  a rel axed smile grew onto her face. "So, the other day you told me you didn't have any Halloween plans sooo.... I decided you can come along trick-or-treating with me!"  
  
"Trick-or-treating?" He asked, blinking in confusion before rolling his eyes with a yawn. "Boooring~! I don't have any costume, and I don't want people terrified because they saw the bestest leader of the most evil team in the world at their doorstep!"  


She giggled and began digging through a bag on the bench which she must have decided to use. "That's why I came prepared!" With a joyous grin she pulled a roll of toilet paper.  
  
"Toilet paper?!" He burst out laughing. "What are we going to do with that?! Scare people with bathroom germs!? Tell them the toilet monster has possessed it?! Nishishi, that's hilarious!" After laughing for a good few minutes- much to Taeko's annoyance- Kokichi soon calmed down to the point he could talk and a sly smile came onto his face, laughter disappearing immediately. "Or have you decided to be like the big kids and cover people's houses in toilet paper? Ooh! You're always such a goodie-goodie, I didn't know you had it in you! I'm so impressed~!"  
  
"No, it's none of that!" She shook her head, cheeks puffed out and dusted with an embarrassed blush. At hearing a disappointed 'aww', she crossed her arms and glared slightly. "Sorry to get your hopes up! But it's our costumes!"  
  
"Our...costumes?" He tilted his head slightly in confusion before becoming a mixture of fear and disgust. "Please tell me we aren't going to be giant toilet paper rolls-" He was silenced after she hit him on the head.  
  
"Of course we aren't going as giant toilet paper rolls!" Her voice was high-pitched with anger.  
  
"Okay... I deserved that." He groaned as he rubbed his head at where she hit him, pouting slightly.  
  
"If you're willing to listen... we'll be going as mummies! The toilet paper will be our bandages!" She explained to him as she got out more toilet paper from out of the bag.  
  
His look changed to understanding as he nodded slightly. "Ohhh! That makes sense!"  
  
Glad that he was on board, she smiled a little bit. "Good! Now stand still and spread out, I need to wrap you up!"  
  
With an excited grin, he did as told and spread his arms and legs apart, standing still like that so she could wrap him in toilet paper. Ten minutes and three empty toilet rolls later Kokichi was covered head to toe in toilet paper, only his eyes, nose and mouth being spared. With him done, the roles reversed and Taeko stood still as he wrapped her up in toilet paper exactly the way she'd done to him.  
  
Once they were done, they threw away the rubbish and Taeko handed him a bag to use. She was practically jumping in joy, ruby red eyes almost glowing. "This is so exciting!! I've never been trick-or-treating on my own before! This is fantastic!"

Kokichi was giggling at her excitement, but it seemed contagious as he couldn't prevent himself from smiling back. "Yeah, we're gonna have so much fun together!" Neither bothered to ask the other how their parents would let them go out at dark to get candy from strangers, neither caring as long as they got to spend time together, and they'd both come up with an excuse whenever somebody asked them about it.  
  
The two spent the night laughing and grinning, enjoying their time together on Halloween night. They raced each other to houses, competed to see- and argued about- who got the most candy. When they got exauhsted, they'd sit on the sidewalk and share their goods before racing off again to continue their quest for candy. Time seemed to disappear, taking hours before most of the houses closed and they had to part ways to go to their own homes, promising to save some sweets for their next encounter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have forgotten to say this earlier, but I might be willing to do some suggestions or requests if you guys have any ideas just leave a comment down below ! Even if you don't have an idea and just want to leave your opinion or something, comments will always be appreciated!
> 
> Until next time, I hope you all enjoyed and have a nice day or night!


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